FOR many years Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State, was a byword for a dirty city on account of the mountains of waste from both industrial and domestic concerns that became signposts in different parts of the city. Indeed, any visitor to Aba then was sure to be confronted by heaps of wastes that not only assault the nose with their putrefying stench, but also block almost all the roads in the city. The situation was also worsened by the ever-present deplorable roads, with stores and shanties built on top of drainage channels causing blockages and overflow of water especially during rainy seasons.

DEspite the well lit streets, I lost my belongings to four young hoodlums at Oshodi area sometime ago, who accosted me at gun point. They made away with my hand bag containing various valuables, including my Blackberry mobile phone, ID card, cash among others. I was around 8 pm on my way home from Apapa, after close of work. I was heading towards Egbeda when the incident happened.

A MEGACITY is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people. Some definitions also set a minimum level for population density at least 2,000 persons/square kilometre. A megacity can be a single, metropolitan or two or more converging metropolitan areas.

TO some Ibadan residents who live at Muslim, Odinjo, Alade Masfala, Adesola in Oluyole and Ona Ara local government areas of Ibadan, it has been a harrowing experience for the past eight years living without power supply. With the exception of a negligible few who can afford generating sets, a larger percentage of people living in the areas have been coping with utter darkness. Their businesses have collapsed with artisans who need electricity for their work moving in droves to other places within the metropolis. Landlords in the area who rely on rents for survival now regret why they spent huge sums of money on buildings that would not yield money for them in return.

Did the death of a couple, Francis and Ann Edeh, along with two others, in an auto crash have some unseen hands behind it or was it just destiny at work. That is the question begging for answer several days after the accident.